Oh...and why we support Ron Paul...
Dec 31, 2007
Dec 30, 2007
Political Science
Dec 29, 2007
Color me suprised
“I don’t subscribe to the principle that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims,” Deady said in the article. “They’re all Muslims.”
It's surprising to me that anyone expressed any outrage over such a statement. We're bombing muslims into oblivion in the middle east. Seems like this is our official policy.
As somebody with Native American blood, I find this statement in keeping with how my ancestors were treated up until very recently. "The only good Indian is a dead Indian" was a statement I've actually heard in my youth by people who meant it. I look white so it wasn't directed at me of course.
"Nits make lice" was uttered in a political speech by Colonel Chivington, the guy who murdered women and children at Sand Creek. Google "sand creek massacre" as I'm too lazy to include a link for you. :)
Dec 28, 2007
Tangled Webs
As usual, Ron Paul is right about foreign policy while his opponents mouth platitudes.
Huckabee: Sheer Genius
By the way, the article I've linked is a must read. It finishes pretty strong with CNN analyst Bill Schneider essentially calling Huckabee supporters stupid.
But CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said the debate over whether Huckabee has command of the nuances of the Pakistan crisis would have little impact on his support."Mike Huckabee is a populist. His comments on Pakistan reflect a populist understanding of the crisis, which, is to say, not much," Schneider said. "Sure, the political establishment is snickering, but I doubt that his misstatements bother his supporters much."
Dec 24, 2007
2007: A Paulitical Odyssey
The fourth quarter of Ron
Paul's run for the Presidency has surely been a whirlwind if not historic.
These past few months have seen a flurry of activities, all of which signify
the steady, logarithmic growth of the
Ron Paul campaign. Where other campaigns are peaking, or have already peaked,
the Ron Paul campaign has maintained a consistent and steady upward pattern,
all without any willing help from the Old Media. The Old Media has been
covering the historic events as they occur with an obvious reluctance. The Ron
Paul Revolution's methods and effects on the current status quo can be summed
up in a single cinematic scene: H.A.L.'s breakdown in 2001: A
Space Odyssey.
If you remember this classic, you remember H.A.L. putting up obstacle after
obstacle only to have Dave Bowman finally prevail and shut down that which had
become a sinister master to those it was designed to serve. The Revolution is
doing the same thing: regaining control over a government that has become
master rather than servant of the people. The usual excuses and obstacles are
being respectively discarded and ignored. What's rarely noted is the symbiotic
relationship between members of the Revolution and its courageous leader; a
perfect give and take affair in which each victory by one side or the other,
makes the whole stronger. Several examples stand out.
On December 17, 2007, Glen Beck interviewed
Dr. Paul and gave him the entire hour in which to answer his questions. That
Dr. Paul agreed to appear was an act of courage bordering on heroism. Only
weeks earlier, Beck had circled the neoconservative wagons, inviting David
Horowitz and Jonathan Sands on his show to smear Paul's supporters
and accuse them of terrorism.
I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade but I personally don't think that
Beck's change of heart, if that is indeed what it was, had anything to do with
ideology. The prior attack brought forth quite a few suggestions that Beck's
sponsors be contacted. I'm quite sure that this call wasn't ignored. How else
do you explain such a quick turnaround in programming; from a long segment
attacking Ron Paul's campaign to a full hour interview?
Perhaps this also explains the reason for Beck's bizarre behavior. Ranging from
strange sexual innuendo, to a very clumsy attempt at playing the victim, it
looked like Beck intended to be mean but couldn't quite pull it off properly.
His body language and speech suggested he wasn't truly prepared for what he was
facing. He looked as a man suppressing confession. Or, maybe he was afraid of
openly attacking somebody so obviously polite and honest. As Lew Rockwell said
back on November 18,
"Ron is so transparently decent that the libels of the haters rebound
against them, undermining them rather than him."
The decimation of another Old Media commentator came on December 19th, as Neil
Cavuto became the latest victim. Cavuto decided to
pose Dr. Paul as his analyst to comment on whether or not "warm and
fuzzy" candidate commercials were effective and then brought up a three-month-old
story about donations by questionable characters to the campaign, finally
asking, "What are you going to do about that?" Dr Paul's answers were
so perfect that by the end of the interview you can hear Cavuto groaning and
mumbling; wishing that the pain and embarrassment would just stop. Listening to
the final 30 seconds of that interview, I haven't laughed so hard in weeks.
Dr. Paul's increasing media exposure was made possible by the other half of the
Revolution, those crazy supporters. Having raised 4.2 million dollars on
November 5th, supporters were not content to rest on their laurels. That mark
was shattered on December 16th when over 6 million dollars were delivered to
the campaign, surpassing John Kerry's record of 2004. It wasn't nearly the
whole story.
"My God, it's full of Ron Paul supporters..."
During this quarter:
· Supporters launched the Ron Paul blimp, raising over 300,000 dollars to launch it.
· Hundreds (over 400) are moving to New Hampshire in order to canvass for Dr. Paul.
· A Letter writing campaign was initiated so that hand-written letters could be delivered to voters in every county in Iowa. Over 518,000 have been mailed.
· Meetup groups all across the country have been training members how to get elected as delegates to the national convention. It's already having a disquieting effect on Republican carpet-baggers across the country.
· Ron Paul's poll numbers, even though certainly under counted, have risen from 2% to 7% nationally. This represents a steady changing of minds, exactly what you hope for in a political campaign.
· Rallies were held world-wide on December 16, to commemorate the latest fund-raising achievement as it happened including in Belgium and France. The movement is global.
In short, there is no stopping this Revolution. The Old Guard is H.A.L. The
Revolution is Major Dave Bowman. The film, arguably Kubrick's most innovative,
is essentially about awakenings. This modern Revolution is an awakening, The Dawn Of Man.
A new generation and the remnant are picking up the bones and discovering that,
indeed, they hold their own future in their hands. And like H.A.L., the Old Guard
is putting up its obstacles but it will not succeed.
Also, like H.A.L. the Old Guard is artificial. The true power in government is derived from the people. What we’ve accepted for so long is an artificial construct, namely, that our safety and our rights are the government’s to manage. We are at a time when our rights are being ignored on the pretense that our safety is at stake.
In our story, the obelisk,
an object which was placed as an experiment meant to advance mankind, is the
constitution. Its creators were not aliens, but men who fought and sometimes died
for the principles contained therein.
I estimate that we are at the point where David Bowman is trying to re-enter Discovery
One and H.A.L. is revealing that he is on to the conspiracy. The
result is just as inevitable. While now is not the time to celebrate victories,
I do expect a party to rock the globe (without spending any tax dollars) on
January 20, 2009. That will be the day to rest and assess what has been
achieved. And a day where the world breathes a collective sigh of relief.
Dec 21, 2007
Ron Paul Tied for Third in Iowa
Federal Reserve/Gold Standard and the Keynesian Kooks
For me, I'll take the word of a man who knows enough about the fed to accurately predict recessions over some hysterical journalist.
"..as we drive the economy this year and for next year's election you will see conditions improve, but sure enough you will see the consequence of the inflation that we have today; in a couple of years you will see the recession, if not the depression of '86 or '87. So it is for this reason, out of humanitarian concern for our people, that we must reject the notion of central planning in money; just as we reject the ideas of central planning in agriculture or steel manufacturing."Ron Paul at a von Mises Institute sponsored debate between Dr. Paul and Federal Reserve Board Governor Charles Partee 1983.
Dec 19, 2007
Dec 18, 2007
Glen Beck Interview with Dr. Paul is Up!
However, I think that Beck is ambitious and is one of the few media personalities who has recognized that the revolution is a seriously large and powerful demographic. After watching this, I'm convinced he's getting on board.
Thanks to Students for Ron Paul for getting this up so quickly.
I think that Beck wants it both ways judging by certain segments of the interview but thought better of it because he didn't get a fight. He really tried to play the guilt by association card, but I believe the man has a conscience and realized that it just wasn't going to look good for him if he kept pushing it. So, the net effect is that Dr. Paul got about 35 minutes to answer questions in-depth.
We'll see how Beck treats this going forward but he has already shown he doesn't want to anger Ron Paul's supporters.
The Constitution is Just a God-Damned Piece of Paper
"Some people in this chamber love the Constitution more than they love the safety of this nation.We should all send President bush a letter thanking him for protecting us." - Jeff Sessions - 12/18/2007
It's like they want to destroy the Republican Party. Thanks to Steve Gordon for bringing this to our attention.
Still Think Ron Paul's Ideas are "Fringe?"
With polls showing most Democratic voters eager for a new direction in Washington, Clinton, with her long record in public life, has been forced to battle the perception that Obama would be the more effective change agent."We are ready for a new beginning," she told an audience in Council Bluffs. "It all comes down to one question: who is ready and able to make the changes we need on Day One in the White House."
Now, really. Which candidate would actually bring change to Washington? Answer: Ron Paul.
Dec 16, 2007
We Just Passed Five Million
Doing My Part
I've donated what I could afford so far. I plan on getting to the maximum but that is going to require that I sell a rare guitar. I'll let everyone know when I've finally put it up on E-Bay, but I have a 1963 Fender Stratocaster I'll be putting on the block for the Ron Paul cause. That might even make it so that I can donate the maximum for both my wife and I. Today, we approach 4 million with 7 hours to go. Very exciting. I hope that we can get a big push at the end and strike out towards 8 million.
Dec 15, 2007
Deliver Us
Really? Hillary donated to Ron Paul?
Dec 14, 2007
Some of the Dirt on Huckabee Clinton doesn't want to leak yet.
This is from the Supreme Court's Chief Justice (by the way, the "home schooling advocate" Jonell Caldwell, named in the suit and who claims to be a pioneer in homeschooling in AK and has a much viewed video in support of Huckabee is in fact the chairman of the Arkansas State Education Board)
Results of the State's own Benchmark testing for eighth grade students in April 2000 showed that only sixteen percent were proficient or above in math statewide, and in the Little Rock School District only nine percent were proficient or above.Do you remember the NEA convention speech where Huckabee is talking about making sure that teachers are valued by way of increased salaries? What an incredible, bald-faced liar. If he really thought this was a priority, perhaps he'd have pressured the legislature to increase teacher pay. Not that I am a fan of paying teachers who can only achieve a 9% competency rate amongst students in math, but it's clear that Huckabee plays very fast and loose with the facts.With respect to Arkansas high school students entering state universities, fifty-eight percent needed remediation in either English or math. For the Rogers High School students entering a university (including some students with 3.0 grade averages), forty-four percent needed remediation in either English or math.
Judge Kilgore concluded in his 2001 order that the "State has a remarkably serious problem with student performance." We agree.
...
Arkansas' entry level for teacher salaries is last when compared to our eight bordering states, and Arkansas spends twenty percent less than the national average for teachers across the board. The entry level salary for Arkansas school districts bordering Memphis, Tennessee was about $5,695 less than that offered in Memphis school districts, and for more experienced teachers the differential was almost $6,000. A similar disparity exists for beginning salaries between school districts in Texarkana, Arkansas and Texarkana, Texas. Arkansas school districts pay about $4,000 less than those in Texas.
HSLDA and Huckabee
Dec 12, 2007
Seasons Greetings From Ron Paul and his Family
Vaccine Politics
I have been coming around to this view for several years now. My latest on the subject will be up at Lew's tomorrow. Here's a preview.
What has resulted from this unholy marriage of corporate interests and the government is not public health but political medicine. Both figuratively and literally, political medicine is poison that seeks to destroy common sense, customer choice and too often, lives. When it isn’t denying medication that has been proven useful to cancer patients, it is attempting to mandate medicine and ban food supplements.If one didn’t know any better, one might conclude that the FDA and related health agencies of the federal government, want you to get sick.
Dec 10, 2007
Robert Ringer: Voice of Tyranny
By square one, I am referring to the great paradox that few Americans are willing to face up to: In order to preserve freedom, some freedoms must be restricted.
Bob is convinced that every Muslim is going to kill us. The level of his hysteria would be hard to match even though he tries to voice his opinion as one who truly cares about freedoms. As in, I really care about your freedoms but you better just give them up because, "when someone points a gun at you and says he's going to kill you, you don't have time to engage in an intellectual dialog about free speech and civil rights. The first order of business is to kill the guy with the gun in his hand."
His logic doesn't get any better. I wonder if he would also have us all disarm as well. But his logic, and the logic of all the warmongering neocons is this:
Give up your rights, or die.
Now, it's pretty funny. The most fundamental right, is our right to life. So by giving up that right, you die. If you give up your rights, you die. That is why the founding fathers, and they weren't that original actually (see: Magna Charta), believed that the ownership of firearms was paramount to freedom.
Bob Ringer has it wrong as do the rest of his carpet-bagging, neoconservative brethren. Live Free, or die. If we alllow ourselves to be swayed by such illogic as his, then we don't deserve to be free anyway.
USA Today Ad Guy.
Dec 9, 2007
Bush: Security Genius, Isolationist.
Agents were dispatched to give him a stern talking to and to make sure he knew he'd be on the "no-fly" lists of the TSA. The report didn't mention it but I have it on good authority that they promised his baggage would be lost too if he dared to come to the U.S.
With a crack team like this, it's a mystery how the events of 9/11 could have occurred.
Why do I get the feeling that if Ron Paul were President, he'd encourage him to visit the U.S. and wouldn't be alienating him?
Dec 8, 2007
Help! My Ron Paul Revolution Song needs Video
The song is titled "I'm Alive". "I'm Alive" can refer to a lot of things but mainly it refers to "the remnant" of freedom advocates once believed to be all but dead until the Ron Paul revolution began. Non Serviam over at Ron Paul Radio has been playing this song daily on Ron Paul Radio. He is responsible for the mastering.
Shoot me a link if you decide to pick this up. And, for what it's worth, I don't have a huge readership here. About 1k visitors a month, so I'd be much obliged if you pass this around.
[UPDATE: Somebody suggested I checkout podsafe. Much cooler than Garage Band I think and gives me the ability to embed the player like youtube.
Dec 5, 2007
Hillary's Economic Cluelessness
The the interviewer's credit, she asked some very pertinent questions which leads me to the conclusion that Hillary hasn't got a clue. She called the Federal Reserve an "independent body" of which she would not be comfortable dictating a strategy. She either doesn't realize that it was the Fed's horrible monetary policies which created this crisis, or does and sees it as an opportunity to further control the market.
Actually, both are probably true. She views any crisis as an opportunity to send more jack-booted thugs out into our streets to dictate what happens to us.
When asked where the billions of dollars would originate to finance her plans, she glibly responded, "it comes from where it comes: the budget."
If that isn't the most vacuous and condescending (to the people who are being robbed)response ever ......ooooohhh I can't even finish this sentence properly it makes me so mad.
Couple that with some info that Laura posted today about the Fed allowing banks to get discount loans directly from the Fed, and you have all you need to know about these corrupt thieves who allegedly represent us.
Go Ron Paul Go....
Dec 4, 2007
Local News Coverage
And the Polls are Accurate Now?
"State polls may be even more valuable ultimately because that is the primary trail. They reflect the presence of very intense campaigning that other states are not getting," Miringoff said.Even a month before the first votes, a state poll can be extremely misleading, Donahue cautioned. At this point in the 2004 race, Democrat Howard Dean had a huge lead over John Kerry in New Hampshire, where Kerry won. At this point in the 2000 race, Republican George W. Bush led Arizona Sen. John McCain in New Hampshire, but lost that primary by 18 points, she said.
"In 2000 and 2004, the polls were so incorrect at this point in time as to be completely meaningless," she said.
Why was McCain attacking Ron Paul in the last debate? Because he knows that Ron Paul is not a dark horse anymore, he's the front runner.
Dec 3, 2007
Look Ma! We're on TV!
If you live in Austin, check it out. I don't have a television so I'll have to wait for the re-runs on You Tube.
Dec 2, 2007
Salon is the New New York Times
I also remember during Clinton's presidency when Salon was created. It wasn't very good but it certainly has come along. Greenwald is superb. Here's a great article about Ron Paul in New Hampshire and it is reminiscent of what made the NYT a great paper.
Ronmey's Money.
The local GOP organization made a bunch of money, but can the primary be bought in the same way? Are these events the way that the campaigns have traditionally won the state primaries? Is this entire primary thing just a sham?
The GOP needs a rude awakening. The end-run is to ignore the primary popular votes and stack the national convention with Ron Paul delegates. It can be done. Ron Paul doesn't have to win the primary votes outright. He only needs to have the delegates at the convention.
The Florida Meetup is PISSED
Romney supporters voting multiple times....
Democrats Can't Debate without Hollywood Writers?
Found at the bottom of a St. Petersburg times news article about the Florida Straw Poll:
The Democratic National Committee has canceled a Dec. 10 presidential debate in Los Angeles because of a potential strike by CBS news writers.
God knows they don't want to utter any unscripted, straight answers.
Dec 1, 2007
Tea Party
Nov 30, 2007
10.3 Million and Counting
Fred? About the same. He's been a big disappointment. From a philosophical/political viewpoint, I might be able to live with Fred (though there's no way he'd beat a democrat in the general). He was one of the few sane voices in the Senate during its investigation into Janet Reno's home fry restaurant in Waco. But today, he has no fire, he looks like skeletor and nobody gets excited about anything he has to say. So I really don't think that even the corporate donors will be writing checks to his campaign. I have to admit that before Fred Announced I saw him as the real dark horse of this campaign. He allegedly had some charisma and that is what I think the poor neoconservative values voters were hoping to find. Oops... "First, can I get a round of applause?"
Huckabee might raise 3 million this quarter. We still have a month to go. Huckabee's poll numbers on the other hand put him in the top tier. But it seems awfully convenient. I mean...how? He doesn't have money to spend, doesn't have grass roots support of any note and even though he is being touted as the "surprise" candidate by the old media, there's no "there" there.
The only challenger to Ron Paul's fund raising will be Romney and my guess is that he will write himself another loan which will represent the majority of his fund raising "success".
So in terms of money, Ron Paul will likely be #2 if not #1 in the fourth quarter. What's very exciting about this campaign is that the growth is steady. It hasn't peaked.
And I really don't think it will peak until we get into the middle of the general election and perhaps beyond. Laura pointed out that today's fund raising of over $500,000 was a "disappointment" to certain commentators.
To whom? Certainly not to Ron Paul or his supporters. More of the old media's rotten spin since they can't find bad news to report elsewhere. Wait 'til 12/16 you putzes. That is going to be a world-wide event with sympathetic protests held in Europe.
Show me any Candidate on either side that is inspiring support in any country other than the U.S. Isn't happening because the world is scared to death of the whole lot of megalomaniacal sociopaths who aren't named Ron Paul.
Nov 29, 2007
Superb Alternet article in defense of Ron Paul
But more than that, the typical analysis misses the fundamental dynamic driving Paul's popularity. His campaign occupies that political space where right- and left-populism intersect, and that space exists only because there are significant areas of national policy where neither of the two parties, nor any of the "mainstream" candidates, have shown any willingness to represent their constituents.
Nov 28, 2007
And the award for best live blogger of the debates goes to....
Nov 27, 2007
Will the Real Kooks please stand up?
Ron Paul Delegates: Ahead in West Virginia
So, the Ron Paul people have been coming out in droves and signing up to be At-large Delegates to the State Convention. In fact, at this point, I believe they are ahead in the ‘at large’ category of Delegates.Lookout GOP, we're taking you back.
Nov 26, 2007
More Evidence that the old Media is starting to get it
And little wonder. In the 1990s, conservative Republicans rose to power by relentlessly attacking Big Government. Yet the minute they took control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, they kicked out the jams on even a semblance of fiscal responsibility, signing off on the Medicare prescription drug benefit and building literal and figurative bridges to nowhere. From 2001 to 2008, federal outlays will have grown by an estimated 29 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
Aaron Zelman to the ADL: Burn in Hell
The ADL has decided to flex its muscles in the Ron Paul direction and Zelman minces no words. I love this guy.
I've been an ADL hater ever since Mark Pitcavage put constitution.org on his now-defunct, militia watch site. Mark, by the way was instrumental in fomenting, directly and indirectly, the anti-militia and anti-constitutional mindset that led to the ATF's raid on the Branch Davidians. There are no words strong enough one could use to denounce the treasonous ADL.
I agree with Aaron in this instance though it may be unbecoming. Sometimes, there aren't enough rocks.
Nov 25, 2007
Thompson's Lack of Enthusiasm? Turn That Proposition Around
a small crowd of less than 50 also seemed to lack an enthusiasm for the candidate. Throughout the roughly 20-minute speech, largely centered on national security, Thompson stopped several times for applause, yet there were only uninspired responses from the crowd. As Thompson entered the rustic VFW hall, the crowd had to be prompted to applaud by his campaign staffers in back of the room.
I have no idea if my comment will make it on their blog since comments are moderated but here's the response I posted...
So at what point do you guys start noticing that Ron Paul's support is staggering?We now know via this blog that a dozen for Romney and 50 for Fred where applause has to be prompted is newsworthy. (Last month, shortly after his announcement at a stop in New Hampshire he [Thompson] had to ask a crowd of about 20 for applause). Maybe Fred isn't the one lacking enthusiasm. Maybe his platform is not only un-inspiring to his supporters but to Fred and anyone on his staff.
So where do you note that 5000+ in Philadelphia, 2000+ in Nashville, 2000+ in Michigan, 1000+ in Nevada, 700+ in Austin (back in May!), all crowds that arrived to see Dr. Paul in varying weather conditions, is newsworthy?
Isn't it time to recognize that the real front runner of this Republican race is in fact Ron Paul? Isn't it time to re-assess this absurd notion that it is Ron Paul who is the quirky "fringe" candidate?
Poison Your kids or We'll Shoot
Of course, there's no law that they can use to actually punish parents for not vaccinating their children. But that didn't stop them from threatening jail time and a good number of parents just gave in. We definitely should be ashamed of letting this sort of thing to happen. Vaccination "science" is dubious at best and this should be a choice made by parents. But when your biggest political donors are drug companies, it is no wonder that this happens.
Here in Texas, Governor Perry, who takes a good amount of cash from Merck, signed an executive order demanding that girls in Texas schools take a vaccine that hasn't been shown to have any positive effect in reducing cervical cancer rates.
Of course Merck is going to be profitable when the government is mandating the use of its products. This practice has been going on for years, benefiting many different industries and corporations here in the U.S.
Nov 24, 2007
Giuliani's Implosion Imminent
The crowds, however, don’t seem to have gotten the message. A rally for Giuliani in front of Manchester City Hall garnered only a few dozen supporters. Backers of Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich almost seemed to match them in numbers. Giuliani generates healthy crowds at town hall meetings, but they are not all loyalists. When it comes to rallies and events where partisans are expected in droves, Giuliani’s crowds disappoint. And the mainstream media has started to notice.Top tier? My eye. The front runner has been Ron Paul for at least two months.
Ron Paul beats Hillary
As Steve Gordon wrote back in September, Ron Paul is the only Republican candidate that can beat Hillary in the general election. In fact, it wouldn't even be close in my opinion. It would dwarf the landslides we saw in 1980 and 1984.
But now even the scientific data seems to overwhelmingly support the idea.
HT: Laura
The Ron Paul Zeppelin? Whole Lotta Love!
Each time I think I've seen it all, somebody comes up with another brilliant idea. During the winter, I'm not sure how much sense this makes in northern states. You need visibility for this one. It's a blimp to be painted up with Ron Paul copy that would fly around the states. Of course it would attract a great deal of attention and it's completely a grass roots effort.
The site asks that you only give if you haven't yet maxed out. They've already received 65k in pledges. How cool is that?
Nov 22, 2007
Don't talk about drugs on campus.
The Principle of the school removed the paper from circulation citing issues of "journalistic integrity" as her reasoning. She wrote a letter to parents to let them know that she was making sure the journalism students were on their toes.
I found that the content and sources could not be validated, that information from school counselors were misrepresented, and that it was not even known if the student sources even existed as the names used were aliases. I was very disappointed that rules of good journalism were not in place and that the approval system failed as well.Uhh huh. It couldn't be that one of the allegations was that a common drug being dealt on campus was the Ritalin that was handed out like candy by school health administrators to students diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. It probably couldn't be that the article claimed that school officials knew of the drug dealing and turned a blind eye to it.
Nah...they pulled the paper from circulation because it was a case of bad journalism.
Prescription pills are popular for school-related issues. Many teens diagnosed with ADD or ADHD sell their Aderol, Ritalin and Hydrocodine. Some students believe that pills help them to better focus and concentrate on school work.
Local AM radio station KLBJ posted the principle's letter and the original article on their web site. I graduated in 1981 when the biggest drug war push was just beginning. The student's article here mirrors what I saw in high school and that was 25 years ago. Except for one thing: back then there was nobody in my school being prescriped Ritalin and other drugs for these pseudo disorders.
The drug war has obviously failed miserably if its intent was to rid society of dangerous drugs. If its intent was to turn us all into watched sheep, it has been wildly successful. Now it would appear to also be affecting our right to talk about it.
Nov 21, 2007
Ron Paul helps us to Remember America's Great Past
For Mr. Levins and other supporters, Mr. Paul is more than just a choice on the Republican primary ballot. He is talismanic, a 72-year-old 10-term congressman who transcends partisan politics. For them, he's the man who can restore the Constitution, end the Iraq war, bring back the gold standard for money and stop an erosion of civil rights.
It's a good piece and I do not mean to deride the writer. But he's only noting half of the story. Yes, it's true that his supporters are excited. But it's not just about their level of enthusiasm at events where Ron Paul appears. It's their level of enthusiasm which motivates them to act and spend their money when Ron Paul is not appearing in their town.
For instance, today, Lawrence Lepard, a venture capitalist, spent $85,000 in one whack on a full page ad in the USA Today.
I would bet he's also already "maxed out."
He didn't do it alone. The effort was launched on Ron Paul forums and lickety-split a graphic artist was located, the copy was discussed and the ad was produced. Months ago, I blogged about this sort of spontaneous activity even before the Iowa straw poll when the critical mass appeared as if it would be reached sooner, rather than later.
A Lawrence, Kansas, painting contractor had painted a huge Ron Paul sign on a roof that was going to be replaced. Funny how it wasn't until I started writing about this tonight that even I didn't "get it" yet. I mean, I "got it", but I didn't know why exactly.
I'm sitting here with a big grin because I've known that Ron Paul is going to win, but not why we all get so excited about him, until now. Yes, "Hope for America", strong message of liberty, excited supporters, blah blah blah.
We're so excited, and so many people keep enthusiastically supporting him because we're being reminded of the so-called American dream. I realize that the message is strong and is the basis for this remembrance. But that is not the secret. There are actually two reasons why this campaign has become so powerful.
The first is Ron Paul's credibility combined with his ability to inspire the imaginations of those who hear his message.
The second and most powerful reason is that the grass roots accomplishments of this campaign have been mirroring the laissez faire, unregulated success of our ancestors during the late 18th century. Anyone could own a press and many did. The amazing technological advances that seemed to just keep exploding from the barns and warehouses of ordinary citizens were much like what we keep seeing on YouTube video after video.
Not that cures for cancer are being discovered, but were our society to organize itself the way that these Ron Paul meetups are organized, completely voluntarily and with a high tolerance for people of different backgrounds working toward a common cause, I have no doubt that a cure could be found.
We're witnessing in action what has occurred in the past, and on a small scale, how our country could be organized and run again. Actually, we're seeing something much closer to anarchy and it is exhilarating. If Ron Paul were not a student of Von Mises and Hayeck, this wouldn't be happening.
This is why Ron Paul will win the primary and why his supporters will completely demolish Hillary next November. It will be an epic land slide. Ron Paul is the first to admit that he isn't really doing anything in the way of campaign strategies, though I think he's very modest. They have a plan there in Virginia and have been executing that plan.
I think he understands that there is as much pulling as pushing. The grass roots is the personification of the ideals he espouses. He reminds us of the America that once was: full of innovation, peaceful, cosmopolitan and most of all, free.
The grass roots are then running with that concept and demonstrating how that works in action.
That's what the old media is failing to recognize. Ron Paul is causing us to remember a great past and imagine a future built on the same traditional principles that allowed imagination to truly fuel innovation. We remember and we hope.
Don't wait for 12/16 to donate
Nov 19, 2007
Orwell Lives
It's a way to "empower the parent" says the Rev. Jeffrey Brown co-founder of the anti-crime Boston TenPoint Coalition.
Of what is this statist a "Reverend"? The Church of Satan?
Nov 17, 2007
Washington Post on Liberty Dollar Raid and Ron Paul
As if Ron Paul's supporters needed any more motivation to storm the battlements and wreak havoc on the Republican presidential primary, now comes this: the feds are trying to take away their money.
Earth to Washington Post: They took away our dollar in 1913. This is about keeping it that way.
The UnLiberty Dollar
In the late 90s, Bernard von Nothaus, a long-time opponent of the Federal Reserve system, decided to produce an alternative dollar which would be backed by silver. He called it the Liberty Dollar. As its popularity grew, so did the Federal government's discomfort. They decided to investigate. In 1999, the Secret Service investigated and "… determined there wasn’t a federal currency violation." They did suggest however, that perhaps NORFED, the organization von Nothaus began as a political vehicle to oppose the income tax and Federal Reserve, might be running afoul of SEC regulations.
It seems to be a trend that when an agency can't find anything wrong with a spontaneous and unregulated economic endeavor, they keep searching. Not counterfeiting? Maybe they're trying to engage in some other special activity that we regulate! Let's call up a different agency! Most people would call this harassment by authorities, something that is illegal in all 50 states. Nobody gave the feds that memo, apparently.
But why on earth would they care? What von Nothaus had created was a medium of exchange, the value of which could be easily determined. Where's the harm in that? To obtain Liberty Dollars, you had to pay with the "legal tender" printed by the U.S. Treasury, so why the scrutiny?
Perhaps, the government doesn't like to have its schemes foiled. If the Liberty Dollar and its creators were kooky for thinking that gold and silver is money, there was still the slight chance that people in the U.S. would gravitate toward that real money rather than the counterfeit stuff the Treasury kept handing out (by the trillions). NORFED wasn't the only group which offered alternative currencies. It just happened to be the only group that offered real money -- gold and silver -- as opposed to barter paper or scrip, and even its paper was backed by gold and silver.
Recently, the U.S. Mint declared on its website that use of the Liberty Dollar
was a federal crime. The Mint didn’t provide specifics and von Nothaus
filed a
lawsuit
which claimed that the declaration was defamation and a great harm to his
business. This suit has been allowed to go forward even after many attempts by
the defendant’s lawyers to have it dismissed. The government would never
retaliate against somebody exercising their constitutional rights would they?
If the government feared that the liberty dollar would become popular, its
fears were realized. As of Monday, eight years after its inception, the
Liberty Dollar was the most popular alternative currency instrument in the
United States.
On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, the government tried to kill it. Details are
sketchy, but 12 armed federal agents raided Liberty Dollar's headquarters and
took everything. Not only did they take the computers and records, they
confiscated dies, medallions ('coins' are a statutorily defined artifact) and
the gold and silver kept in the vaults. The paper certificates in circulation
were instantly devalued. What in the world would motivate the government to do
this?
The
search
and
seizure
warrants were posted at the Liberty Dollar
web
site. According to the seizure warrant, the allegation is that
NORFED has been engaging in money laundering and wire fraud. The search
warrant is nothing more than a wholesale fishing expedition. The seizure
warrant itself uses three cites of criminal seizure statutes,
USC
18 982 (2)(b),
USC
18 981 (1)(b) and
21
USC 853(f). I'm no lawyer but in reading those sections
of the law it becomes only too obvious how cavalier our federal police have
become when it comes to reading the laws they are allegedly sworn to uphold
and the Constitution which allegedly authorizes these laws.
Let me show you what I mean.
In USC 18 Section 982 (2)(b) we find:
The court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of a violation of, or a conspiracy to violate—
(A) section 215, 656, 657, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1014, 1341, 1343, or 1344 of this title, affecting a financial institution, or
(B) section 471, 472, 473, 474, 476, 477, 478, 479, 480, 481, 485, 486, 487, 488, 501, 502, 510, 542, 545, 842, 844, 1028, 1029, or 1030 of this title,
shall order that the person forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds the person obtained directly or indirectly, as the result of such violation. [Emphasis added]
This section is describing criminal forfeiture which clearly requires a trial and can only be executed during the sentencing phase. There is no legal authority given in this statute to seize assets prior to a conviction. One of the statutes listed as being the source of authority is USC 18 981 (1)(b). It reads:
(B) Any property, real or personal, within the jurisdiction of the United States, constituting, derived from, or traceable to, any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from an offense against a foreign nation, or any property used to facilitate such an offense, if the offense—
(i) involves the manufacture, importation, sale, or distribution of a controlled substance (as that term is defined for purposes of the Controlled Substances Act), or any other conduct described in section 1956 (c)(7)(B);
I am assuming here that 1956(c)(7)(b) - money laundering - is the specific reason that this forfeiture applies. That statute is about a crime against a foreign nation or bank. Did a foreign nation or bank file a complaint against NORFED or does the government just make it up as they go along? Are they going to produce a victim or will we find that the "crime" is theoretical? Here's the section:
(7) the term “specified unlawful activity” means—
...
(B) with respect to a financial transaction occurring in whole or in part in the United States, an offense against a foreign nation involving—
...
(iii) fraud, or any scheme or attempt to defraud, by or against a foreign bank (as defined in paragraph 7 of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978)); [emphasis added]
The final cite for seizure authority given is 21 USC 853(f).
The Government may request the issuance of a warrant authorizing the seizure of property subject to forfeiture under this section in the same manner as provided for a search warrant. If the court determines that there is probable cause to believe that the property to be seized would, in the event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture and that an order under subsection (e) of this section may not be sufficient to assure the availability of the property for forfeiture, the court shall issue a warrant authorizing the seizure of such property.
Folks, this is a crock of [expletive
deleted]. The government here has used as its authority, to seize property
subject to seizure under banking laws, statues which apply to drug
enforcement. Title 21 contains laws applicable to the Food and Drug
Administration. Liberty Dollar and those who bought their products, have
little chance that any judge will look at this blatant tyranny and reject it.
A judge signed these warrants. More than likely the same judge that will hear
any motions relevant to this case. It would seem that there is a very good
argument to make against the legality of this snatch and grab, but frankly, I
don't think the government cares about the law. The law is now just
hieroglyphics used to justify tyranny. If it really meant anything to anyone
in government except as a means to spread a patina of legitimacy over blatant
criminal acts, this hodgepodge of legal "authority" wouldn't be the
norm.
Liberty Dollar and its customers have been denied the right of due process.
Every civil and criminal seizure proceeding must allow the defendant a hearing
to challenge the government's assertion that a preemptive seizure is
justified. That never happened in this case and this government is proving
itself beholden to no law, especially not the Constitution.
We have one chance to strike it down in our favor without resorting to
violence. In 1913, the original liberty dollar was replaced with the unliberty
fiat dollar. In 1971, Nixon finally put the nail in the coffin by finally
severing the relationship between gold and silver and the "dollar". A man you
may have heard about was driven into politics to change this. That man was Ron
Paul. His stance on money has been consistently derided by ignorant (or worse)
commentators but this issue has resonated amongst the population almost as
strongly as has his principled stance on foreign policy. Von Nothaus even
minted a version of the Liberty Dollar with Ron Paul's image on it.
Sound money is the only way that people can truly be free. Obviously, our
government won't even give us a whiff of freedom. If you're not a Ron Paul
supporter, try and get the candidate you support to even talk about sound
money. Chances are your candidate will refuse to answer any questions about
the issue or defer to the "experts" working at the Federal Reserve. With every
day that passes, the truth of Ron Paul's admonitions become more evident. The
persecution of Liberty Dollar shows us that our government is not interested
in our freedom. Rather than protect our freedoms, they are at each passing
moment inventing new ways to stifle and control us.
We have one chance to change it all and restore our liberties. Let's not blow
it. All of us have been affected by the fiat unliberty dollar. For those who
have been directly affected by the raid, there is a signup for the
sure-to-follow class-action against our government.
Sign
up. Register to vote Republican in the primaries and support
Ron Paul, the only Presidential candidate who is a defender of the true
liberty dollar.
Nov 14, 2007
Nov 9, 2007
And Now for Something Completely Different
Anyway, Lew was kind enough to publish it. I think she's a better writer than I, personally but maybe I'm not so objective.
Nov 6, 2007
Sneak Preview
Aliens hacked my blog!
Warehousing Humans
Nov 5, 2007
Nov 4, 2007
Ron Paul: November 5th Starts With a Bang!
They've now updated that to a starting total of $3,115,107.
If we use the former, as of 1:00 CDT, the total is $3,345,180, and so far the total raised is $560,000 in roughly 2 hours.
If we use the latter start number (3.1 million), it's $230k in two hours. That's still a phenomenal rate. Using that rate, we're at 115k per hour and today will see about 2.7 million by the days end. It's less than the 10 million we wanted to see, but will certainly put Ron Paul on track to get to the 12 million mark by December 31. By the end of the day the total raised for the quarter could be about 5.4 million if this remains steady.
However, the former number is the correct number according to my screen shot which captured the RP Graphs data at 12:56 Eastern Daylight Time. That means that the number is more like $230,000 per hour and the total at the end of the day could very well be 5.4 million and 8.1 million for the quarter so far. 5.4 million In one day? Let's hope this pace remains this way.
Update: I sent a note to Dan, who runs the graphs site, regarding the discrepancy in the start numbers:
I added in the offline donors.. I think that is what you saw.$326k
Oct 30, 2007
Oct 29, 2007
FEMA fake news conference
Oct 24, 2007
Boycott RedState
I was banned for making a comment there. It was the only comment I ever made there. Because I used the word "neoconservatives" I was banned.
There are people there who deny that neoconservatives exist in spite of the fact that Norman Podhoretz proudly calls himself a neoconservative.
Red State has been riding high on the Ron Paul phenomenon. Its page views increased. Its ad revenue was increased. All because people logged in and decided to try and talk sense to people who are immune to it.
Erik , at his own blog, decided to post some of the email he's received. He's so dense, as are most of these neoconservative types, that he doesn't realize he's made himself look even worse.
Face it. The neoconservatives don't even admit that 70% of Americans are fed up with the Iraq war. They don't admit that 56% of the GOP base wants the war to end. These are facts. The neoconservative movement is dead. What's left of it is committing political suicide but does not realize it yet.
Think I'm crazy?
Watch this video. It's Norman Podhoretz pwnd by an audience who attended a recent book signing of his new book about "Islamofascists" and why we need to bomb Iran.
Interesting that Podhoretz can't get away from his racist, leftist past. I never knew that he had such disdain for black people.
Back to the point. If you have an account at RedState, discontinue it. Stop reading that site. As large as the Ron Paul Nation is, we can make a real dent in their bottom line and in the bottom line of many web sites and media outlets who censor or disparage Ron Paul. Get this through your heads: you are much more powerful than you think. The market is very powerful when its individual members start acting. Stop sending them emails. Stop giving them page views.
And from now on, when you're searching google, mouse over the link or pay attention to the source. If it's from RedState, do not click. Boycott Red State. They may never realize that they no longer have any influence over Republican politics, but they might just get a good lesson in economics.
Oct 18, 2007
A Ron Paul Cabinet
I was inspired by a recent article at Lew Rockwell by Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski.
- Secretary of the Treasury: Franklin Sanders
- Director of the General Accounting Office: Karen DeCoster
- Secretary of Defense: Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski
- Secretary of Commerce: Walter Williams
- Attorney General: Bob Barr
- Secretary of State: Lew Rockwell
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs: John McCain
The rest, Homeland Security, Housing and Development, Education, Homeland Security etc should be abolished, I think it would be good to leave their department heads vacant.
Actually, I might consider John Taylor Gotto as head of Department of Education if for nothing else but to make a bunch of department documents available to the public to see what a sham federal interventions in educations have been.
Oct 16, 2007
Oct 13, 2007
Austin Walk for Ron Paul
Today, he led the walk and waved that flag for almost two hours as we left the Capitol building, went down Congress to the Congress street bridge and then snaked around City Hall, over to the Governor's mansion and back to the Capitol steps.
There was a great deal of honking and cheering from passers-by on foot and in cars. It was thrilling. We plan on doing this once a month. Today the official count was 193 but we picked up a few along the way. One of the marchers had a sign that said "Park your car and join us!"
Oct 12, 2007
Another one at Lew Rockwell
I get a few emails from Paul supporters who are still not convinced that he can win and that I'm not presenting any evidence. Frankly, I believe that the only way he can't win is if somebody does something illegal. At least that's my belief after collating some of the data I present in the article.
It's 90 days before the first primary and no other GOP candidate (maybe even DNC candidates) has been pulling in the crowds that Ron Paul has. Not even close. There is no evidence that any other candidate including DNC candidates has any significant online support by comparison.
Oct 8, 2007
Oct 5, 2007
Speaking of Donations
Oct 4, 2007
Check This Site if You're Not Registered Republican
Oct 3, 2007
The Missing Nukes
If a nuke goes off here in the US. I can tell you right now won't have come from some third world Islamic nation. I say that in spite of the story I've linked. This government cannot be trusted. Gulf of Tonkin was a complete fabrication. Pearl Harbor was manipulated.
[Update: It keeps getting wierder, an airman at Minot, where the nukes ended up, died while on leave. He was part of the security force squadron.
A Setback for the Ron Paul Campaign
"Many states, in an effort to shut out Ron Paul are now closing their primaries," reports Reynolds. "That means that only Republicans can vote in the Presidential primaries for a Republican candidate."
You Did This
Oct 2, 2007
Red State, Brown Shirts
The thread is here
Preach it Brother
The only hope for the GOP is to abandon Bush and his policies like he was an aids infected transvestite crackwhore.
Oct 1, 2007
Now, This is Funny...
Apparently there is intense interest in comparing the rate at which Paul's supporters move fiat money voluntarily out of their pockets, and the rate at which the government moves money by fiat out of Paul's supporters' pockets.
Sep 30, 2007
Pre-emptive war: An invention of Hitler
Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly, I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked about such a thing.
The neoconservatives are batting .1000. (Thanks to Lew Rockwell via Penny Langford-Freeman).
Sep 29, 2007
Mutiny?
“The ethos is: Give your advice to those in a position to make changes, not the media,” said Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, now retired. “But this administration is immune to good advice.”On September 6, the media reported that nuclear weapons were "mistakenly" loaded onto a b-52 and flown across the country. According to the Times of London:
A squadron commander in charge of the warheads, each of which has up to ten times the destructive power of the Hiroshima atom bomb, has been relieved of his duties while crews responsible for the error have been banned from handling munitions.Maybe there is more than meets the eye here. Why in the world would this even make the news? To scare the public into thinking that our nuclear arsenal isn't safe? To scare Iran? Nukes do not get loaded onto B-52's by mistake.
World Content News is reporting that these nukes were on their way to the ME and were supposed to be launched in a coordinated fashion with Israel's attack on Syria. Some military officials have blown the whistle which seriously calls Bush's military leadership into question.
Although the Air Force tried to keep the B-52 nuclear incident from the media, anonymous Air Force personnel leaked the story to Military Times on September 5, the day before the Israelis attacked the alleged nuclear installation in Syria and the day planned for the simultaneous U.S. attack on Iran. The leaking of classified information on U.S. nuclear weapons disposition or movement to the media, is, itself, unprecedented. Air Force regulations require the sending of classified BEELINE reports to higher Air Force authorities on the disclosure of classified Air Force information to the media.Perhaps there are still some patriots at high levels in the military after all.In another highly unusual move, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked an outside inquiry board to look into BENT SPEAR, even before the Air Force has completed its own investigation, a virtual vote of no confidence in the official investigation being conducted by Major General Douglas Raaberg, chief of air and space operations at the Air Combat Command.
Then there's this from the Sierra Times:
Indeed, by the time Kathy Harris replied to her son's e-mail, several other military families had received desperate phone calls from their loved ones in Iraq. There had been some sort of mutiny, it was clear. The details were sketchy, but it appeared that the platoon had refused to deliver a load of fuel to Taji, Iraq, because the soldiers believed their lives were at serious and unnecessary risk. According to the family members' accounts, they were detained at gunpoint by soldiers for more than a day.
Sep 28, 2007
What are the odds?
Sep 27, 2007
That Backward Islamic Nation: Iran
Don't let them do it. They're talking about nuking this country.
Sep 25, 2007
The Ron Paul Campaign is Becoming Deadly Serious
“The other Republican candidates are good men," said Dr. Ivers, "but when it comes to a record of fidelity to the Constitutional principles of “Limited Government”, they are still all students compared to Ron Paul. And with 65-70 percent of Americans polled now opposing the War in Iraq, if the Republicans nominate a pro-war Republican they may just as well hand the White House over to Hillary Clinton."“I relish the thought of a series of national debates between Mrs. Clinton and Dr. Paul and will be pouring my energy into helping Iowa Republicans see the power of his nomination,” continued Ivers.
This is now a meme. Ron Paul vs Clinton. Get used to it. That's what is going to happen. No other GOP challenger has a shot against Hillary. This campaign is not about some Quixotic attempt to spread a message. It's about winning the Presidency (but first the GOP nomination).
Things are happening. Very good things. The fundraising in the past week has been stunning. The support he's been getting, even on the west coast was better than imagined. Freedom is popular and the timing couldn't be more perfect. At no point in my lifetime has the danger of the United States slipping into a totalitarian nightmare been more apparent. At no time have our young people been asked to carry such a load. Social Security, a trillion in borrowed money to finance an illegal war, a burgeoning police state, a corporate private army (Blackwater) building bases in the US and committing atrocities abroad, the Patriot Act and the threat of a Democratic candidate who will raise taxes, impose upon us a draconian health care plan that would have made Mussolini proud all the while continuing US intervention abroad. On top of this, a sinking dollar and an unconstitutional Federal Reserve that consistently inflates the dollar to prop up an economy ruined by a bloated Federal government.
One man steps up and says, "Maybe, just maybe, there is a better way for us to handle our problems. Maybe we should try adhering to the Constitution and respecting the liberties of humans everywhere."
That dog will hunt.
The Front Runner Is Ron Paul
I suspect that the magic number of 10 million will be reached this quarter. The 280,000 that Ron Paul has raised in the past 24 hours is almost half of what he raised in the entire first quarter of his campaign.
Sep 24, 2007
A Fat Pig Calls Ron Paul Supporters Hitler Youth and Fat Pigs.
A "similar" article was carried in the Chicago Observer says the sub heading.
Why do I go into this ancient history? Because the role of Sen. Taft was and is at great variance with that of Rep. Ron Paul whose demagogic phraseology appeals not to conservatives-but, apparently if Saturday’s meeting was any indication-to a sweaty group of boisterous, screaming, jumping up and down in place, obese youth (obviously from hours spent huddled before computers), shaggy, unkempt, hirsute, noisy, obstreperous, rambunctious and raucous. And that’s before we consider the male contingent.Why the great interest in this element of youth for a 72-year-old man who, were he to be improbably elected, would be easily the oldest president at 73 and 77 when he would complete his first term? A candidate who touts congressional term limits but who has served nine terms already and under unique Texas law will be running for reelection while he runs for president either as a Republican or nominee of the Libertarian party?
The answer is clear. The message that this candidate brings in one of self-indulgence, ideally suited for the mob he addressed.
Take a look at the picture of Tom Roeser at the link above and tell me who is self-indulgent? If he's under 350 I'd be very surprised. Interestingly enough he goes into detail about Robert Taft's foreign policy and claims that Ron Paul's foreign policy is nothing like it. In spite of the fact that Ron Paul wants us out of the U.N, out of NATO and both he and Taft have said that Korea and WWII were probably not justified though at least in WWII Congress lived up to its responsibility, Paul and Taft are nothing alike.
It would be sad if Mr. Roeser weren't such a hypocrite and a big fibber to boot. It's actually quite funny and I'm not sure he realizes how badly he's discredited himself. I am assuming he doesn't believe anyone who reads his articles is smart enough to know that he's not telling the truth.
Sep 22, 2007
MoveOn.org could grow on me...
Sep 21, 2007
They Live to Run (Your Life)
Contrary to the Benny Hinn of Republican Politics, Newt Gingrich, you bring "all your good ideas" first. Then the money comes. Ron Paul's candidacy will prove historic. Newt Gingrich's will prove a flop and about as spendthrift as John McCain’s and Mitt Romney’s campaigns have been. This is because neither Newt nor the rest of the Ron Paul challengers understand the power and attraction of freedom. Perhaps they do, but they certainly wouldn't want to go around promising any of that. How could they run your life if you were free?